Ice hockey is a sport in which many people participate. Participation is at a high level not only in the United States and Canada, but worldwide also.
Ages and skill levels of participation vary from the mere novice to a highly proficient professional. At any level, however, it is desirable to have a way in which the blades of the participants' ice skates can be sharpened. With time and use, the blades lose their edge, and the ability of the skater to function at his or her highest level becomes diminished.
Additionally, sharpening will be different depending upon the intended use of the pair of skates. For example, hockey skates would be sharpened with an abrasive element having an arcuate surface with a radius of curvature different than the radius of curvature of an arcuate surface of an abrasive element intended to be used for figure skates. Even where a participant is involved only in hockey, for example, blade widths of different pairs of skates and other factors might dictate the use of a plurality of abrasive elements having arcuate surfaces with different radii of curvature. Also, each individual skater has his or her own preference for the sharpness of skates. The smaller the radius, the sharper the blade edges. Also, the competition and/or ice surface on which a skater is competing or skating may dictate radius edge preference. As can be seen then, it is desirable to be able to change abrasive elements depending upon various dictates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,307 which was issued to Bradley J. Anderson on Jun. 24, 1995 for a device characterized as a SKATE BLADE EDGE RESURFACER illustrates a device which can be used by virtually anyone to quickly and easily sharpen the blades of a pair of ice skates. That structure, however, has a number of significant drawbacks. The patent illustrates a sharpening device having a longitudinally extending bore formed through a housing. A cylindrical abrasive element, having a diameter slightly smaller than that of the bore, is inserted into the bore and maintained therein by means of pins made to extend across the bore and engage the abrasive element, when it is received within the bore, at either end thereof. Consequently, a separate sharpening apparatus must be owned and maintained by an individual for each individual skate sharpening preference. That is, the skate sharpening apparatus does not have universal application. As a result, undue expense must be incurred by an individual if numerous blade sharpening applications are necessary to be performed.
Even if a single application is to be performed, the device of the Anderson '307 patent has drawbacks. For example, over time, an abrasive element will become too smooth to effect further adequate sharpening of ice skate blades. It then would become necessary to replace the cylindrical sharpening element. Because of the manner in which the abrasive element is held in place (that is, by pins crossing the bore), it can be difficult to effect replacement.
Further, the sharpening device of the Anderson '307 patent, because of its construction, does not enable rotation of the abrasive element while sharpening is being done. It is frequently desirable to effect such rotation during the sharpening procedure in order to present a different portion of the abrasive element for engagement by the blade edge.
It is to these problems and dictates of the prior art that the present invention is directed. A device in accordance with the present invention is an improved ice skate sharpening apparatus which addresses and provides solutions to these dictates and problems.